Surface mounted electrical raceways have evolved from the xe2x80x98pipe and boxxe2x80x99 typical of commercial warehouse type electrical distribution systems to the architecturally and aesthetically more acceptable stylized systems available from sources such as The Wiremold Company of West Hartford, Conn.
The high visibility of present day surface raceway systems in modern office spaces and in public buildings such as hotels and hospitals tends to draw attention to these stylized surface mounted raceway systems. One aim of the present invention is to avoid this attention getting effect of present day systems, and to avoid the commercial/industrial ambience created by the very presence of such stylized surface mounted raceway systems.
The present invention borrows a page from the Victorian Architectural Era when relatively elaborate wood moldings were used around doorways and along walls as well as around windows to provide a formal appearance to interior spaces, both residential and commercial. The recent revival of this Victorian approach to the interior architectural decor and appearance of building structures, both new and old provides an opportunity for a novel approach to satisfy the continuing need for electrical and data/telecomm cabling as well as the associated outlet devices that users of such structures now take for granted, not only in their home and offices, but wherever they spend time, such as in hotels for example. The needs of today""s users of portable and personal computers for both electrical power and data/telecomm jacks dictates that these conveniences be available to him/her in any area that he/she might frequent.
In accordance with the present invention, a building structure wall surface has base board and chair rail trim pieces that include horizontally spaced rosette blocks of generally rectangular outline such that one end of each trim piece abuts a rosette block. Preferably, similar trim pieces and rosette blocks are provided around each window and doorway to provide a decorative trim treatment in the space defined by the wall surfaces. These trim pieces and rosettes have decoratively molded front faces and generally flat rear surfaces that are adapted to be affixed to the wall surfaces. The trim pieces are formed with a rearwardly open recess extending the entire length thereof, and the rosette blocks are hollow and adapted to receive outlet devices, such as power outlet plugs or data/com jacks. The hollow rosette blocks communicate with the trim piece recesses to allow power and/or data telecom cabling to be routed from a source or sources in the wall to these outlet devices. Preferably, each trim piece is fabricated from a foamed resin and the front face shaped to define a chair rail or baseboard molding. The cross section of these trim pieces is formed to allow each elongated trim piece to be made by a plastic molding process that also results in forming the elongated rearwardly open recess that receives the cabling. A plurality of the rosette blocks are fabricated by molding base and cover portions that define the hollow interiors thereof. These rosette block covers are preferably movably mounted on their associated base to provide access to the outlet devices whether for wiring them upon installation, or for the user to plug in his/her appliance to be connected to the power grid or to a network. Additional rosette blocks, also made up of molded base and cover configuration, are provided at predetermined intervals defined by the length of the elongated trim pieces arranged in end abutting relationship to the rosette blocks. Some of these additional rosette blocks are provided with electrical outlet plugs and others with electrical lights mounted in the lower sides of these rectangular rosette blocks so that the dominant and decorative front face of the rosette block disguises the utilitarian downwardly facing lower side having the outlet plugs and lights.
In still another form the rosette blocks of the invention serve as plinth blocks and have lower edges that are flush with the lower marginal edges of the elongated trim pieces that define base board moldings. These rosette/plinth blocks are provided at doorway openings, with vertical trim pieces abutting upper edges of said plinth blocks. The vertical trim pieces have rearwardly open recesses so that the cabling can be continuously provided through these blocks to reach both said base board and said chair rail molding.
The above described components, namely the trim pieces (both door trim and baseboard/chair rail moldings) can be interchanged with conventionally formed components (without hollowed out recesses ect.) for finishing off a space such as that described above.